Brave Software acquired Link Bubble from developer Chris Lacy a few years back, aiming to turn it into a friendlier ad-blocking browser. The name was eventually changed to Brave, but now the owners are reversing course. It's Link Bubble again, and there's a more conventional browser app available called Brave. Yeah, it's kind of a mess.

Another Android Police video? Is it April Fool's? Christmas? Halloween? International Talk Like A Pirate Day? It's none of those things, it's just more video! This time, we're bringing you Facundo Holzmeister with six simple ways to improve your browsing experience on Android, from things like Chromer custom tabs to the ingenious Flynx, which really deserves its own explanation in the video. We also take a look at a few features inside Google Chrome for Android itself that you may not have discovered previously, including one feature - forced custom tabs - that is currently unique to the Chrome Dev release.

The new owners of Link Bubble made it open source yesterday, but that's just the beginning of what Brave Software (led by former Mozilla CEO and JavaScript inventor Brendan Eich) has planned for the project it purchased from dev Chris Lacy. The company has started explaining its vision for Brave, and it's an ambitious one. Brave will redirect links to HTTPS, block tracking cookies, and (most importantly) strip out ads that invade your privacy. Unlike other ad-blockers, Brave will be able to insert friendlier ads that will help support publishers.

The thing about Marshmallow is that it added a lot of granular control over your apps, but it did so in such a confusing and redundant way that it kind of made things worse in my opinon. Apps now have their individual propertiespage where you can control their notifications (despite that being also available in Sound & notification), permissions (despite that being accessible in one list under Settings -> Apps -> cog icon -> App permissions), and defaults and supported links (despite that also being accessible in that same cog setting). It's this last part that we'll talk a little bit about today, but brace yourself, this will be baffling, inconsistent, and unnecessarily convoluted.

One of Android's differentiating features has been the ability to multitask, especially by allowing apps to coexist on one screen or to show elements on top of each other. Although the concept of floating apps was prevalent for years on the platform, Facebook Messenger popularized the idea of less intrusive bubbles, which simply put round icons at the edges of your screen to allow quick access to your chats and contacts. Link Bubble further pushed the envelop on that approach, taking the bubbles and making them work for you in the background.

A mysterious startup bought the floating browser app Link Bubble from Chris Lacy a few weeks back, and today comes the first big change—Link Bubble is completely free now. The unlocker app is no longer listed in the Play Store and all premium features are included with the free download.

Chris Lacy's Link Bubble floating browser was a cool idea right out of the gate, but you might notice that development has been slow. Today Lacy explains that his little indie dev company simply doesn't have the resources to do what needs to be done with the app, so he's sold Link Bubble (and TapPath) to an unnamed US startup. What does that mean to you? For starters there's a huge update today.

Chrome is the go-to browser for most of the Android world, but those who need a little variety or customization hold the long-standing Dolphin in high regard. The latest beta for Dolphin Browser adds a completely revamped user interface (which the developers seem to do at least once a year now) and a goody basket full of new features. Easily the best among them is support for the official Dolphin extension OneTap, which essentially copies the background-loading app Link Bubble. Nice.

The beta is accessible on the Play Store after joining this Google+ community. (Note: there's also a newer official Dolphin community, but it looks like Beta 11 is going out to users in both.) A full list of additional features is available in that link, but the highlights include a new right-swipe sidebar and menu bar, cloud tab sync support, bookmark sorting, and 40 free browser themes.